By: Spencer Neff
December 17, 2020

After the cancelation of its 2020 date, the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach will once again see a schedule change. On Tuesday, IndyCar announced the popular street course race in California will be moved to the weekend of September 24-26 and will be the season finale. Previously, the event was scheduled to run on the weekend of April 16-18.

Due to the ongoing effects of the novel coronavirus pandemic, there was concern about hosting the event with fans in attendance.

“I want to thank all of the officials at INDYCAR for their assistance in rescheduling the 2021 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach to September,” Grand Prix Association of Long Beach President and CEO Jim Michaelian expressed in Thursday’s announcement.

“We believe that this move will afford us the best opportunity to provide our guests with a fun and exciting experience in a safe and unrestricted environment. It will be a welcome sight to see the NTT INDYCAR SERIES cars and stars back on the downtown streets of Long Beach in the fall.”

For the IndyCar Series, the season will end with a three-race “West Coast Swing” as the Grand Prix of Long Beach is preceded by events at Portland International Raceway in Oregon (September 12) and WeatherTech Laguna Seca in Salinas, California (September 19).

“It is important to have Long Beach rescheduled to continue the history and tradition for one of the series’ hallmark events in one of the nation’s premier media markets,” Penske Entertainment Corp. President and CEO Mark Miles noted.

“Further, it’s a tremendous opportunity to wrap up the season with three-straight iconic venues for what we believe will be our most exciting season yet. As we did during the 2020 season, we will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation and maintain flexibility across our schedule. We are committed to an action-packed and exhilarating 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES.” 

This will be the second straight year that the NTT IndyCar Series finale will be run on a street course. IndyCar season finales on a street course have not occurred in consecutive years since 1984-1988. Back then, Las Vegas (84) and Miami (85-88) hosted the season finale on street circuits.

Header Image By Chris Owens/INDYCAR